Ayami's eyes widened, and she took a tentative step forward, her body slowly shifting toward the mirror. I pulled, and with one last push, she was through.

She stumbled slightly as she stepped into the mirror world, blinking in surprise. "Well, that worked... I didn't think it would."

Ayami looked around, clearly taking in her new surroundings. "It's... strange. This mirror world, it's like a reflection of the real world, but not quite. Everything feels... off."

"I know, right?" I said, glancing around. "It's quiet, and it's like nothing's really alive here."

She looked out the window. "Hmmm... everything's just a replica of the world..."

I nodded and looked outside as well.

"What can you do here besides just existing?" she asked.

"Uh... well, last time I took some snacks from a convenience store."

Her eyes widened. "Wait, you mean stores still have stuff!?"

"Yeah...?"

She quickly turned and looked around the room, her curiosity piqued. She dashed over to the light switch and started flicking it on and off, testing the lamp.

Click, click, click.

"The electricity works too..." she said, her voice tinged with surprise.

Ayami continued testing the light, her eyes lighting up as the lamp flickered on and off with each switch. She seemed almost giddy at the discovery, her earlier skepticism fading.

"This is insane," she muttered, pacing around the room, her fingers brushing against the furniture as though verifying everything was real. "It's like the world here is stuck, frozen in time, but still... functional."

I nodded, watching her examine every corner. "Yeah, it's like a copy, but nothing's living. No one's here. It's... strange."

She paused near the window, staring out, deep in thought. "It's unsettling. Like this whole place is a shell of the real world."

I walked over to her and looked out the window as well. The streets were eerily empty, with no signs of life, no cars passing by, and no wind stirring the leaves of the trees. It was almost like the world was holding its breath.

She stopped what she was doing and suddenly turned toward me, her eyes wide with a mix of excitement and something else—anger? "Why didn't you tell me... IN HERE I CAN STEAL EVERYTHING! NOW COME ON, I WANT TO TAKE EVERYTHING IN HERE!"

I blinked, taken aback by her outburst. "W-What?"

"Come on, boy! Let's go to the mall! I want to take some stuff here!" she yelled, rushing out of the room.

"Wait for me!" I called after her, running to catch up.

The streets were still eerily empty as we walked, just the two of us heading toward somewhere unknown.

"What are you going to grab?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"Let's go to the nearby market first," she said, her eyes gleaming. "We'll take whatever we can!"

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We walked through the quiet streets, the sounds of our footsteps the only noise breaking the stillness. The further we went, the stranger it felt. It was like we were walking through a ghost town—everything was there, but no one else was.

When we reached the market, Ayami's eyes lit up. She practically sprinted inside, looking around with a sense of excitement. "This place is perfect," she said, her voice filled with thrill. "No one's around to stop us."

"What are you going to take?" I asked, watching her with curiosity.

Ayami grinned, her eyes scanning the shelves and displays with a mischievous glint. "Everything," she replied, her voice low and excited. "But I'll start with the essentials. Snacks, drinks, maybe something for later."

She moved quickly down the aisles, grabbing items with swift, deliberate motions as though she were in a race. "This is unbelievable," she muttered to herself, tossing a couple of bags of chips into a basket.

I stood there for a moment, watching her. I could have done the same, but for some reason, I just wasn't in the mood.

"Ohoho... see this, I got so much food! I can save up for next month!" Ayami exclaimed, her arms full of items as she headed toward the freezer. "Where's the meat section?"

"Oh geez, it's freezing in here," she added, shivering slightly as she opened the freezer.

I stood beside her, glancing over at another fridge. My hand reached for the ice cream, feeling the chill as I opened it.

Ayami grinned as she dropped a few more bags into her already overflowing arms. "This is the life!" she said, clearly thrilled by the rush of grabbing everything in sight. "We should stock up while we can."

I nodded absently, still distracted by the ice cream. "Yeah... but do you really need all of this?" I asked, glancing at the mountain of snacks she had gathered.

She grabbed a tote bag nearby and tossed more items into it. "Of course! There's no one to stop us!" she replied, practically bouncing with excitement. "You never know when we'll be back, and besides, it's all free here."

I licked my ice cream as I watched her cram a bunch of meat into the tote bag.

As the tote bag filled up, Ayami slowly turned her head toward the cashier. "Do you think they have money in there...?"

I followed her gaze to the cash register. "I don't know... hey, wanna split it if there's any money?"

Ayami smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Heh, young man, who do you think I am? Let's just see if there's any money."

Ayami crouched down in front of the cash register, her eyes narrowing at the screen. "Looks like there's a password," she said, tapping at the keypad with a smirk. "But I've got a better idea."

Before I could ask what she meant, her body shifted, her form blurring. In an instant, she was a hybrid—part human, part lion. Her hands transformed into powerful lion paws, claws gleaming. With a swift swipe, she slammed her paw into the register, smashing the machine with an ease that was both terrifying and impressive.

The register beeped and clicked open, revealing stacks of cash inside. Ayami grinned, her lion-like features still present, and started scooping up the money. "Well, would you look at that," she said, her voice a mix of amusement and satisfaction. "A whole lot of cash."

I just stared in shock as she began to count the bills, her hands moving quickly, her claws barely making a sound as she stacked the money into neat piles. "This should be enough to last us a while," she said with a grin, completely at ease with the situation.

"Give me half," I said, eyeing the stacks of cash she had gathered.

Ayami looked up at me, her expression a mix of amusement and mock indignation. "Oh, you want half now?" she said, her lion features still apparent. "I thought you were just here for the ride."

I raised an eyebrow, a grin tugging at my lips. "Hey, I helped get us here. Fair's fair."

She chuckled, shaking her head, but then she slid half of the money over to me. "Fine, fine."

"Alright, now I think it's time to head back home, can we?" she added, her tone light but satisfied.

"Let's just go back to your place first. We don't want to stay here too long, especially with the mirror and everything," I said, still keeping an eye on the tote bag she was carrying, now overflowing with snacks and food.

"Alright, follow me," she said, her voice cheerful as she turned to leave, hauling the heavy tote bag filled with everything she had taken earlier.

Back at Ayami's home, we made our way back to her bedroom, the weight of the full tote bag now almost comical, considering her earlier excitement. As we entered, she set the bag down on the floor with a satisfied grunt, then turned to the mirror.

I stepped up beside her, glancing at the mirror. "Let me put the food in first so it's easier to get through," I said.

"Here, take care of it," she replied, handing me the bag.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, taking the tote bag from her. I slowly stepped through the mirror, carefully placing the tote bag on the floor in the real world. Once I was done, I backed away from the mirror and returned to the mirror world to retrieve the other bag. After putting it through, I looked at her. "Now you go first. Hold my hand so you can come through."

"Alright," she said, ready to follow.

To Be Continue.